The Creepiest 'Courage The Cowardly Dog' Episodes That Are Sure To Give You Nightmares

Courage the Cowardly Dog is a supposed children's show that aired on Cartoon Network from 1999 to 2002. The story revolves around a small, perpetually terrified dog named Courage who fights off constant waves of abnormal creatures threatening the well-being of his owners, Eustace and Muriel Bagge. Despite the show's cutesy animation, every episode is a master class in creating nightmare fuel.

There are endless unsettling moments in Courage the Cowardly Dog. The creepiest episodes involve old-world abominations that seem out of place in the show's modern setting. If you live in rural Kansas, you might be wary of bears and tornadoes, but have you ever stopped to consider the impending threat of a zombie film director?

After two cats steal a stone slab from the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Ramses, his ghost materializes and threatens them with a curse. Courage witnesses the cats abandoning the slab and running for the hills.

It's not long before Eustace discovers the invaluable slab, but as he attempts to sell it to the highest bidder, the ghost of Ramses returns and rains three plagues down on the Bagges. In one of the all-time creepiest moments from the series, a spooky Ramses threatens Eustace, but it's not enough to scare off the old man.

Aside from how Courage doesn't immediately question the appearance of a decrepit teacher who's obsessed with perfection, the episode's most unsettling moment comes when the Perfectionist transforms into a claymation nightmare. His distorted voice doesn't help matters at all.

This episode has everything: a disembodied voice, killer food, and a flood. The chills don't stop when the source of the voice finally appears onscreen. If you're freaked out by the idea of a gargantuan, strangely photorealistic floating head, then you should skip this one.

Anyone who uses a poem as an introduction is strange, but Muriel's nephew, Fred, takes it further by thinking exclusively in rhymed verse. After he abruptly arrives at their home in Nowhere, KS, Fred's visit takes a menacing turn when he reveals his secret penchant for shaving people bald.